This is the third time I’m posting about the testing of my D800 autofocus system. The first time was not long after I purchased it, just to see if it had the problem. I found that it did have the problem, and I sent it to Nikon for repair. When the camera came back, I tested it again. Initially I thought it may have been fixed, but further testing showed there was still a problem. During this time, I also purchased LensAlign and FocusTune to help me more accurately fine tune my lenses and camera, but also to help me quantify the results. When I tested my lenses, I noticed that the recommended fine tune values for three of my five...

I now have a page with the setup and configuration for the Nikon D810. A while back, Out There Images posted a list of recommended settings for the Nikon D800. I used that as a starting point to create four custom menu banks for my most common shooting situations. The menu banks are not great because they don’t save all of the settings you need to change, but they are better than nothing. The U1/U2 settings of the D7000 and D600 are superior to the menu banks both in terms of features and ease of use. I have no idea why Nikon has decided to leave out such a fantastic function on their high-end cameras. Neither the D800 nor the D4...

I was waiting for a frosty morning to get some macro shots. Today, I got a few in my back yard. I also attempted some focus stacking with Zerene, though results are mixed. Shots are all taken with a Nikon D800 and Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro...

No holiday season would be complete without dressing up the dogs. Jammie is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and despite the look on her face is happy to be Santa’s Little Helper. Cedric is a mix and is grumpy about the whole situation. He complies as he knows there are cookies involved for being a good dog. Shot in fairly low light with a Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G lens at f/2.8, ISO3200, 1/100s. Processed in Lightroom and...

Today I got my Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR lens back from a friend who borrowed it. Since I haven’t used it for a while I decided to bring it with me on my beach walk at Acadia Beach in Vancouver. It was a cold morning and I was hoping to get some interesting macro shots of frost but I didn’t find any. I did take a few photos but I’ll have to try another day to get some frost. All shots hand-held, ISO800, processed in...

We had a small break in the rain tonight so I decided to head out to catch the last bit of daylight. I visited CRAB Park at Portside (Create A Real Available Beach), which is close to Canada Place and the Vanterm TSI Container Terminal. I didn’t have much time but did get a few shots before heading home. It is certainly a place I will visit again soon. One of my first shots when I arrived. Unfortunately in my haste I didn’t check my settings and shot this image at ISO 3200. I had to apply a lot of noise reduction so it’s softer than I would want. Still, the sky was very dramatic and I’m happy I got the shot....

In early October my wife and I decided to visit Ucluelet, BC. It had been too many years since I made a visit to the ‘real’ west coast of BC. I forgot how beautiful and how close it is. From Vancouver it is only 200Km plus a 1.5 hour ferry ride. The weather was truly amazing, it was unseasonably warm for October and we made the most of it. At night it got quite cold but during the day it was in the mid 20’s and sunny. I wore shorts, t shirt, and sandals, we couldn’t ask for better weather. On the way to Ucluelet, we stopped at a river to let the dogs have a break and enjoy some time out of the truck. Cedric...

Last night, I went out for a few sunset and night time shots with my friend Scott. Sunset was a bust, but we did get a few shots of Science World and the Vancouver skyline. Overall, a fun night out and made better as we finished up with a pint at the new tap...